Reading 262-57

TEXT OF READING 262-57

Text

Date: 1/7/1934 Sex: M ReadingID: 1437

This psychic reading given by Edgar Cayce at the Edmonds” home, 611 Pennsylvania Ave., Norfolk, Va., this 7th day of January, 1934, requested by those present.

[Edgar Cayce; Gertrude Cayce, Conductor; Gladys Davis, Steno. Minnie & C. A. Barrett, Esther Wynne, Florence & Edith Edmonds, Frances Y. Morrow, Hugh Lynn Cayce, Mildred Davis, Helen Storey, Helen Ellington, Ruth LeNoir, Myrtle and Rosario Demaio.]

Time of Reading 4:00 to 4:40 P. M.

1. GC: You will have before you the Norfolk Study Group #1, members of which are present in this room, together with their work on the lesson Day and Night. As I call each paragraph you will comment on same and give such suggestions for improvement as will be of help in making this lesson more valuable for those who will study it. You will answer the questions which may be asked.

2. EC: Yes, we have the Norfolk Study Group #1, as a group; as individuals, and their work on the lesson, Day and Night.

3. Ready for Questions.

4. (Answer, “Very good” on each paragraph from 1 through 47. In addition, on 20, “We will comment on this later,” and on 46 great emphasis was put on the “VERY good.” Then:)

5. In reference to that presented in paragraph twenty, the idea should be expanded upon; not merely that the loss makes aware but rather the lacking of the associations WITH the light. For, the illustration here would, in its essence, appear to indicate that to become aware is to lose. To become aware is also to gain. For those that have lost their way, even as the Master gave with the ninety and nine, all might be left to seek the one. And the joyousness in the finding, not in the loss, should be expressed in this paragraph. Just add about four more lines.

6. (Q) Give the fundamental thoughts and the principles back of the next lesson. [GOD, THE FATHER, AND HIS MANIFESTATIONS IN THE EARTH.] [Title given in 262-48, Par. 7 on 6/25/33.] (A) It will appear to some that the fundamentals back of the next lesson have been expressed in words in the present lesson.

That the manifestations in the earth that are good (and there are some that call ALL good) are of God, and the variations in the manifestations, and the ability to discern that which will lead to the light or to God and that away from the knowledge of the Father, are the fundamentals in the next lesson.

Hence an outline would be first on the questionings that may be by all, in the varied studies.

God is an all-wise, all-inclusive, all-manifesting force in the experience of man. The Father is that loving INFLUENCE in the experience of those that seek Him. God is a fact. The Father - those that seek may know. The manifestations - how and what they are.

7. (Q) What is the affirmation for this lesson? (A) MAY THE DESIRE OF MY HEART BE SUCH THAT I MAY BECOME MORE AND MORE AWARE OF THE SPIRIT OF THE FATHER, THROUGH THE CHRIST, MANIFESTING IN ME.

8. (Q) Please explain the statement given in Genesis, “In six days God made the heaven and the earth and RESTED THE SEVENTH DAY.” (A) That each may interpret this to his own comprehension is rather that each becomes aware of the power of the Father in His manifestations in the earth.

When it is considered (as was later given, or WRITTEN even before this was written) that “a thousand years is as but a day and a day as but a thousand years in the sight of the Lord,” then it may be comprehended that this was colored by the writer in his desire to express to the people the power of the living God - rather than a statement of six days as man comprehends days in the present. Not that it was an impossibility - but rather that men under the environ should be impressed by the omnipotence of that they were called on to worship as God.

9. (Q) Who is Halaliel, the one who gave us a message on Oct. 15th? [In 262-56, Par. 21-A.] (A) One in and with whose courts Ariel fought when there was the rebellion in heaven. Now, where is heaven? Where is Ariel, and who was he? A companion of Lucifer or Satan, and one that made for the disputing of the influences in the experiences of Adam in the Garden. [1/8/34 See 443-3, Par. 22-A mentioning Halaliel.]

10. (Q) Does the truth, “By becoming aware in a material world was the only manner through which spiritual forces might become aware of their separation from spiritual surroundings” show that the reincarnation of those who die in childhood is necessary? (A) As the awareness comes by separation (which is being manifested in materiality as we know it in the present), there is the necessity of the sojourning in EACH experience for the developments of the influences necessary in each soul’s environ, each soul’s attributes, to become again aware of being in the PRESENCE of the Father. Hence the reincarnation into this or that influence, and those that are only aware of material or carnal influences for a moment may be as GREATLY impressed as were a finite mind for a moment in the presence of Infinity. How long was the experience of Saul in the way to Damascus? How long was the experience of Stephen as he saw the Master standing - not sitting, STANDING? How long was the experience of those that saw the vision that beckoned to them, or any such experience?

When one considers the birth of a soul into the earth, the more often is the body and the body-mind considered than the soul - that is full-grown in a breath. For, did the Father (or Infinity) bring the earth, the worlds into existence, how much greater is a day in the house of the Lord - or a moment in His presence - than a thousand years in carnal forces?

Hence a soul even for a flash, or for a breath, has perhaps experienced even as much as Saul in the way.

11. (Q) What is the explanation of, “The Lamb slain BEFORE the foundation of the world”? (A) If this is taken in conjunction with many another expression of the Master, it may be the more easily comprehended in the intellectual activities of those who would seek to experience same.

As the Master gave, “Before Abraham was I AM before the worlds were I AM.” Hence, when there came the necessity in the realm of the spiritual home for the coming of the Lamb into the earth for its redemption, the Truth, the light, the offering was made. Hence the expression as given. For, as has been given, the thought, the mind, is the builder.

Then, as each soul builds for that it as a soul is to act, whether in spirit, in mind or in body, the SOUL-mind is already in the throes of the influences necessary. Then, when we comprehend we realize there is no time, no space, and that the divinity of the man Jesus was perfect in his OWN activity in the earth. For, it was offered even from the first.

So, as ye gathered here - ye each have your duties, your obligations, in materiality. Ye each have your promises in your material things, if ye will but follow in the way that has been opened - that has been shown thee - that each in your own experience may be the channel for the greater blessing to thy fellow man. And, as has been given you, ye have been chosen; each one that CHOOSES to DO His biddings.

Then, pray ye the Father that through His Son, the Christ, ye may be shown more of the light, that ye may in THIS day, in THIS opportunity He has given thee in thy experience in the material world NOW, fulfill that whereunto ye have been called.

For, as the Master gave, “Think ye not that ye have a promise through Abraham? or that ye are children of promise through him? for I say He may raise unto Himself of these stones children unto Abraham.”

Ye are children of the promise, in Christ. Ye have - of all people - the greater right for glorying in that promise; but if ye allow selfishness, unkindness, evil thoughts, evil communications, or little worries of the day to separate you, then ye have rejected being His children - and must one day, one time, suffer that of being offered on the altar.

Then, make much of this opportunity. This, as He gave: “Love ye one another - prefer one another instead of self.” KNOW the Truth, for only truth is of God.

Your next lesson will be DESIRE.

12. We are through.

[1/7/34 GD’s note: During above reading EC had the same experience as in several Life Readings of going for the records, but this time he got the information from a group activity back of the house where the old man usually gave him the record of the individual.]

Reports

Reports & Follow-up

R1. See Source File Key #262 for all current reports, supplements and professional commentaries re 262-57.

R2. 1/7/34 The following is Lesson No. II on DAY AND NIGHT (Second Series), compiled by the NORFOLK STUDY GROUP NO. 1 of the ASSOCIATION FOR RESEARCH AND ENLIGHTENMENT, INC., Virginia Beach, Virginia.

“Arise, shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee!” Isaiah 60:1,2]

HOW TO STUDY A LESSON

1. Read the lesson as a whole.

2. Memorize the PRAYER given.

3. Study the lesson by topics.

4. Study the lesson by questions.

5. Meditate upon it.

6. Listen in meditation for the truth you need, for it will come to all who seek.

7. Apply that learned in everyday life.

D A Y A N D N I G H T

AFFIRMATION

IN THY MERCIES, O HEAVENLY FATHER, WILT THOU BE THE GUIDE IN THIS STUDY OF THE MANIFESTATIONS OF THY LOVE, EVEN AS IN UNTO NIGHT “DAY UNTO DAY UTTERETH SPEECH AND NIGHT SHEWETH KNOWLEDGE.” SO MAY THE ACTIVITIES OF MY LIFE, AS A REPRESENTATIVE OF THY LOVE, BE A MANIFESTATION IN THE EARTH.

INTRODUCTION

In the material world, day and night are only a relative. Viewed from an outer sphere, there would be only varied shades; that is, day and night would exist only in the relation of the earth passing around the sun. These conditions that exist in the material plane are but shadows of the truth in the mental and spiritual planes.

For, matter is gathered in a direct plane of activity, called the earth. Day and night came into existence with the separation of the light from darkness. “These are figures of that from the spiritual plane, termed in the mental world as good and evil.” Day is the facing towards the source of light, which to the mind of those who seek to do His biddings is the Voice, the Word, the Life, the Light, that may come into the hearts, the minds, the souls, of each to awaken them, as individuals, to that relationship with the Source of Light. Night is the facing away from the source of light; rebellion, self-destruction.

In the beginning, in the mental plane, day became the first period of consciousness of the separation from the Source of all Power. Thus, with the creation of day, the souls evolved in their own undoing became conscious of their separation from the Creator. In the plane in which physical activity began, there was then the establishing of directors or rulers of the day and of the night.

In the figurative sense, light and darkness, day and night, represent those periods of growth and periods of recuperation through the activities in that called matter from whatever plane it may be acted from or upon.

So, in the beginning, the first soul created darkness in turning away from the will of the Creator. This soul, and all that followed after him, separated themselves from the light. Then came the light, bringing the realization of the fall and a preparation for the way back. Each soul experiences in a small way the reality of this great division and gradually becomes conscious of the real and the unreal.

WHY THE CREATION OF THE WORLD

“All souls in the beginning were one with the Father. The separation or turning away brought evil; then there came the necessity of the awareness of self’s being out of accord with and out of the realm of blessedness. As given from the beginning, by becoming aware in a material world is or was the only manner or way through which spiritual forces might become aware of their separation from the spiritual atmosphere, the spiritual surroundings of the Maker.”

God said, “Let there be light.” Awareness is to know. To know is light. Thus was a way of escape prepared, for, “He has not willed that any should perish.” In passing through the various forms of development, the soul may find in its manifested forms the awareness of its separation from its Creator. Darkness existed because a soul had separated itself from the source of power. Hence the necessity of the Way, and in His mercy He called Light into being; awareness began.

As we become aware of our being, our relationship to our surroundings, to our Maker, we walk more and more in the Light. Who, then, is in the dark? Those who have not, will not, become aware of Light. We came here for this purpose, and even as the Son, who learned obedience through the things which He suffered, we learn through day and night how far away or just how close we are to the Father. Therefore, we, through the love of the Father, have the opportunity through experience, suffering, comparison, to become aware of day and night, light and darkness, good and evil, right attitudes and wrong attitudes, of our having turned away from the Father, and come to recognize the way back - where alone is the full satisfaction of the soul’s desires. “Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits!”

DAY UNTO DAY UTTERETH SPEECH

Those who live in the Light are in the Day. In Him is Light. To become aware of this truth is to walk in the Light. The sun is but a shadow of His light to remind us that we may choose Light rather than darkness.

Being urged on by the attributes planted within, the soul seeks growth - truth, light, life. It may be submerged to such an extent that we may seek gratification and satisfaction in lower ideals for a time than was set by Him, but eventually “every knee shall bow.” “Seek the Kingdom of God,” was the admonition urged by the Divine One, and, “all these things will be added unto you.” What things? That which man needs for happiness, for rest, for peace - life, light, hope, love, truth, understanding, God. And it is only those who abide in Him, who keep the Door Open so that He may come in and sup, that grow in the true knowledge of these things.

Would we have Light? Then turn within. Look into self. Find the answer to the problem that is keeping us in the dark. Judge no one, not even self, but know, be conscious of, what we have done, are doing, with the knowledge, the understanding, the opportunities given unto us. For each individual must so live each day that he may look into the face of that he has spoken, that he has lived, and say, “By this I stand to be judged before myself, before my God.”

Today is the day of opportunity. Each span of life is just another extended opportunity that light may break forth within us. We are only enjoined to use that we have in hand, and are then promised that what we need for further development will be supplied. How good, how long-suffering, is the Father, that through patience and love waits - waits for the growth of the souls of His children, and “upbraideth not.”

Then it is well that we take stock of ourselves often. See if we are advancing or retarding our growth. “Are all thy plans in keeping with that He would guide thee to do? Or in keeping with thy own? Loveth thou the material things of the world more than the praise from the grace or glory of God? Then know that the way thou goest is the means for better understanding. Remember, the mental is the builder, the Spiritual is the guide (or the life), the conditions builded in the material things are the results. While there may come the pleasures of those things of the world for a season, the step by step should be, “I show in my relationship to my fellow man, in my conversation and in my deeds day by day, that I consider my relationship to my Maker.”

“For, when an individual is passing from the activities of the stages of the material things, who carries on? That which has been builded in self through constructive forces or destructive forces? Then, let thy steps be in the way of Light, that these may bring, not only to self but to those who are dependent upon self, those things that make for the worth while. Study to show thyself approved unto thy Maker. DO NOT CONFUSE SELF, NOR CONSIDER OR FEEL THAT THE SPIRITUAL OR MENTAL LIFE IS DIFFERENT FROM MATERIAL THINGS; for one is the shadow and reflection of the other. If we live in the light, the shadows fall behind. If the face is turned from the light, there can be nothing in the life, in mental and material things, but shadows. TURN TO THE LIGHT!”

We, therefore, speak according to what we know, or are aware of. We may fool ourselves and think that we are expressing other than what we really are, but sooner or later we will be awakened to the realization that when the great search-light of truth and understanding is turned on us we have only given out little because we have had little to give.

Then, how may “Day unto day uttereth speech” become real to us? Just in proportion to the light we are able to shed on others in our walks and association among our fellow men and our true understanding of the Kingdom of the Father within. For, we know: In Him is no night, neither is there need even of the sun; for He is the Light that shineth more and more unto the Perfect Day.

NIGHT UNTO NIGHT SHOWETH KNOWLEDGE

In the evening, in the night, there comes to us an opportunity for rest, reflection, meditation and inspiration; or a time for misery, sin, mental torture. Just so in each trying experience of life, it may teach us such a lesson of love and sympathy that we may be ever after a changed person, or may harden us, submerge us, until the blackness and darkness of hell itself is our portion.

May we not learn that all life is but an opportunity to learn, that we may better understand our relationship with the Father? If we need the great and terrible experience of being an outcast from society, we have a nearer companionship with Him who was Himself an outcast and knows more fully our loneliness than we ourselves are able to realize. He knows because He suffered in all ways like unto man, but through it He learned obedience. Then, if the experience is to make us more like Him, more kind, more considerate of the fallen, more tolerant of those in authority, even, then is not the experience worth while? Let us not turn our troubles into such darkness that we blind ourselves to the truth and block the great development in store for us.

The night makes it easier for us to appreciate the light and in the experience, “showeth knowledge.” Night is as a film upon which the real may be pictured. In this experience the soul may obtain a picture of the activity of light and become aware of whether it is making itself one with the light or contaminating light with darkness.

Night is only a shadow of the first turning away. We cannot appreciate what home is until we have left it. Therefore, the shadow of that One who has returned is ever present. “And there will be no need for the sun, for he will be the light.” As we, like the prodigal son, choose to return also, there will be great rejoicing when He sees us “afar off” and makes ready for our reception in the glory of His Presence.

We are composed of day and night and must make the separation ourselves of the light and darkness in ourselves, even as God did in the beginning with the whole universe. Creation is going on all the time. We are either becoming children of light or darkness. When we say a kind word, we are reflecting the shadow of light. When we say a harsh word, we are reflecting the shadow of night, and adding to the power thereof.

While in the darkness, we may become conscious of the light

• of not being in the light, and can realize its value. That is why God separated light from the darkness materially, so that we might draw a comparison and come to the appreciation of the light. “This day I have set before you good and evil, (light and darkness); choose thou this day whom ye will serve!” Man’s activity must be in the day, in the light, for night cometh when no man can work.

When the Master was tempted on the mount, He did not deny the existence of evil; rather He recognized it for what it was, and made the separation, saying, “Get thee behind me, Satan!”

When passing through the great trials of night, we have only to turn our wills to His will to experience day, as we would turn a house plant at a window. If the plant remains in one position, we know it becomes one-sided. There is no fault with the light; it is always there to help bring forth the best in the plant. So we need to tune in constantly with the Great Source of Light, which is better appreciated through our nights of depression. Surely we come into the Light of Day by passing through great tribulation, and need to wash our robes in “the blood of the Lamb,” or saying and LIVING, “Not my will, but thine be done in me.”

EXPERIENCES REGARDING DAY AND NIGHT

“Since beginning the meditation on Day and Night, I have been constantly turning within with a keen desire for a thorough cleansing of self. At times I have felt I was trying to trace my soul from the beginning of its existence, a calling of self for examination. In becoming aware of the separation from the Source of all Light, I have become conscious of those things that cause this separation, day by day - anger, hate, malice, jealousy, self-esteem, etc. With this realization has come a greater desire to bring myself again to a one-ness with the Source of all Light and Life.”

“There seems nothing so trying as days of petty disturbances and small irritations that tax one to the very limit. There have been times when I have been very sensitive to little remarks of friends and loved ones. They seemed extremely cutting and unkind. Upon studying myself, I have found that it is I that am out of attune, that I have separated myself from the light by turning to those thoughts and actions that bring darkness. Thus I unfit myself to be a channel of blessing to others and bring about the attitude of doubt and misjudgment. It is so wonderful to know that we may choose for ourselves good or evil, night or day. I have learned that it is most necessary to be careful of word, act and thought as we contact others day by day. We are either helps or stumbling blocks to our brothers, and in choosing which we will be, we choose night or day.”

“I have come to understand that day is facing the Source of Light with a mind that seeks to do His biddings. It is the word, the life, the light that comes from the heart’s mind, in the souls of each, to awaken them as individuals to their relationship with the Source of all Light.”

“During meditation one night I suddenly became conscious of a bright light, just as if the sun was shining through the darkness of the night, and its rays were directed down on my room. Then I noticed a light which looked exactly like a star moving through space toward the larger light. As I gazed upward, watching closely, I saw the star reach the larger light and become one with it.”

“Again I saw a large light in my room. I recognized it as a manifestation of God. It moved over toward me and disappeared within my inner self. It made me aware that the body is in the temple of the living God, and that I must let my light shine in such a manner as to hasten the day of the Lord.”

“In considering Day and Night, there comes to my mind the scenes of the song, “The Holy City,” in which there was no night - a place of spiritual consciousness. ‘No need of moon or stars by night, or sun to shine by day. He is the Holy City that will not pass away.’”

“When one lives according to the mind of the Spirit, which is the understanding of God’s laws, there is no need of day or night, for in the spirit there is no time or space. I have come to understand night as ignorance and day as illumination; for, in the study of Truth, we understand there is no difference in either day or night. What is day on the earth plane to one may be night to another. Many on this planet are living in the night; for the Master gave us the commandment to go unto all the world and preach and teach and heal - and until we have done all three we have not been fully illuminated.”

“Only when man turns himself away from God, or good, is he living in the night of his life. When turned toward the Son of God within himself, he lives in the day in which there is no sickness, no sorrow, no poverty; but joy, praise, love, health, happiness, and perfect self-expression - heaven on earth.”

“There is a constant struggle between the forces of the day and the forces of the night. All over the world in all countries, in various ways and manners, people are seeking into the unknown for something to fill an unrest, turmoil, confusion, that exists in the minds of people. This is being done in all conceivable ways and manners. As people seek to open themselves, however it may be, the forces (spirits or entities) of the unseen are just as anxious to manifest in their activities and, in a figurative way, there is a war between the forces of day and night to use the channel. Hence the injunction: “Try ye the spirits.” The ideal set in Christ, the symbol of the light to the world, will protect and keep the way clear for understanding and development.”

“Day and night are not to be measured in days and hours, but by states of consciousness. ‘As a man thinketh in his heart, so he is.’ The states of consciousness may be just as high as the Thoughts of the Great Ideal, or so low that the soul may be hidden in Egyptian darkness.”

“What may I learn from the night? Have I built it or am I suffering that others may see the light? My lord ‘is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before his shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.’ I am strengthened in considering this truth. If through suffering I may help another to Light, I, with the apostle, shall rejoice in tribulation, which shall work out for me a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.”

I AM ALPHA AND OMEGA

That we may fully realize that we are One with the Father and worthy to be companions with Him in glory is the sum total of the beginning and end of earth existence. Through day and night, light and darkness, experiences and the overcoming of same, conflict and conquest, love and service are means to an end. Life battles are necessary, but the final triumph is made the more glorious because it is founded on righteousness. “I pray not that thou shouldst take them out of the world, but that thou shouldst keep them from the evil.” Thus does the Spirit pray and with groaning utter in our behalf. The experience on earth is necessary, but may we for our own development keep ourselves from evil!

“Have ye not known, have ye not heard, hath it not been told ye from the beginning, have ye not understood from the foundation of the earth? It is He that sitteth upon the circle of earth. Hath thou not known, hath thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? There is no searching His understanding.”

God is the beginning and end of that brought into material manifestation, or of that known by man as the plane or dimensions from which man reasons in the finite. “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.” That God, the Father, the Spirit, the Ohm, is the influencing force in every activity is not wholly sufficient unto man’s salvation, in that he is a free-will being, as intimated - Alpha, beginning; Omega, ending. For, the separation, the confirmation, the segregation, the building, the adding to it is necessary in relation to those activities that lie between, for man’s building is the beginning and end.

Our sonship is exhibited in our choice of free will, and the urge that is always prompting us to press on. Thus, as we were one with Him in the beginning, we will be one with Him in the end, through Him who is the Light, the Truth and the Way.

CONCLUSION

In seeking to become aware of, or to be conscious of one’s relationship to the Creator and to present one’s body a living sacrifice, wholly acceptable unto God, one must learn to differentiate between the day and night side of life; that is, be able to place true values where they belong. This may involve a period of supreme testing as we develop toward this ideal. As we develop toward the light, we imbibe that Divine Wisdom which aids in rightly divining the Truth.

Everything must be judged by the results. If the results are peace, harmony, justice, mercy, love, we know the day is shining in our lives; if they are those opposites, then we know the day has not dawned for us and we must continue to wait in patience and prayer for the inner self to be opened that the Light may shine through.

While waiting for our day to dawn, great upheavels may take place in our lives. That which we thought was sure foundation may crumble beneath our feet; that in which we had the most implicit faith may take wings and fly away. Place not the faith in tangible things, in material things. All THINGS change from one fleeting second to the next. Only God is unchangeable, and if the life is lived in accordance with His divine laws and the seeker is sincere in his groping after the light, those obstacles that would hinder will become the stepping-stones; the impurities and drosses that would despoil will be burned out, leaving a clean, bright channel through which the blessings of God may flow. Painful

• yes - but very, very much worth while in attaining to that goal toward which we are all striving.

Not selfishly may one seek, but with the purpose to let His will be done in all things; not with the desire to override, to outwit, or out-distance some other traveler. God knows our possibilities much better than we know ourselves, and when He sees a nook, a place, which we can fill acceptably, the way is opened. Give all glory and praise to Him, the Giver of all good and perfect gifts, for the example of His son whom He sent into the world to guide it out of darkness!

The son’s power has not been diminished. He is still the Great Overcomer, and the world bows in homage and devotion in His blessed Presence. His angels are constantly on the watch to guide those who would be guided over the rough and stony path, to lift up those who would stumble and fall. Have faith in the Infinite Power of Good, and know that God’s plan for the world shall never be thwarted by man, unless man chooses to bring upon himself his own destruction. If he chooses the dark path, then God can raise up others to carry on from the very stones over which he stumbles.

In meditation, humbleness, patience, service, joy, fortitude and love - guided by the Holy Spirit - does the light break through and shine in the darkened places. Shall we not say with the Psalmist:

“Whither shall I go thy spirit? or whither shall I flee thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.” (Psalms 139)

Have courage! You are not alone in a darkened world, but when you turn within, the way will be made clear. God has a plan for your life. Let not that opportunity to serve God and your fellow man pass by, nor become overshadowed by the pressing needs or turmoils of the moment.

Know ye: “Here we have no continuing city, but we seek one to come, whose maker and finisher is God.”

DEFINITIONS (Questions & Answers)

(Q) Please explain the statement given in Genesis, “In six days God made the heaven and the earth and RESTED THE SEVENTH DAY.” (A) That each may interpret this to his own comprehension is rather that each becomes aware of the power of the Father in His manifestations in the earth.

When it is considered (as was later given, or WRITTEN even before this was written) that “a thousand years is as but a day and a day as but a thousand years in the sight of the Lord,” then it may be comprehended that this was colored by the writer in his desire to express to the people the power of the living God…rather than a statement of ‘six days’ as man comprehends days in the present. Not that it was an impossibility…but rather that men under the environ should be impressed by the omnipotence of that they were called on to worship as God.

(Q) Does the truth, “By becoming aware in the material world was the only manner through which spiritual forces might become aware of their separation form spiritual surroundings” show that the reincarnation of those who die in childhood is necessary? (A) As the awareness comes by separation (which is being manifested in materiality as we know it in the present), there is the necessity of the sojourning in EACH experience for the developments of the influences necessary in each soul’s environ, each soul’s attributes, to become again aware of being in the PRESENCE of the Father. Hence the reincarnation into this or that influence, and those that are only aware of material or carnal influences for a moment may be as GREATLY impressed as were a finite mind for a moment in the presence of Infinity. How long was the experience of Saul in the way to Damascus? How long was the experience of Stephen as he saw the Master standing…not sitting, STANDING? How long was the experience of those that saw the vision that beckoned to them, or any such experience?

When one considers the birth of a soul into the earth, the more often is the body and the body-mind considered than the soul…that is full-grown in breadth. For, did the Father (or Infinity) bring the earth, the worlds into existence, how much greater is a day in the house of the Lord…or a moment in His Presence…than a thousand years in carnal forces.

Hence a soul even for a flash, or for a breath, has perhaps experienced as much as Saul in the way.

(Q) What is the explanation of, “The Lamb slain BEFORE the foundation of the world”? (A) If this is taken in conjunction with many another expression of the Master, it may be the more easily comprehended in the intellectual activities of those who would seek to experience same.

As the Master gave, “Before Abraham was I AM…before the worlds were I AM.” Hence, when there came the necessity in the realm of the spiritual home for the coming of the Lamb into the earth for its redemption, the Truth, the Light, the Offering was made. Hence the expression as given. For, as has been given, the thought, the mind, is the builder.

Then, as each soul builds for that it as a soul is to act, whether in spirit, in mind, or in body, the SOUL-mind is already in the throes of the influences necessary. Then, when we comprehend we realize there is no time, no space, and that divinity of the man, Jesus, was perfect in his OWN activity in the earth. For, it was offered even from the first.

QUESTIONS [Test ques. by Esther Wynne]

1. Explain what is meant by Day and Night as given in the Introduction.

2. What is the purpose of life in the material world?

3. Why is each experience an opportunity to be in the Light?

4. What is meant by Light in this sense?

5. Of what is the material life a reflection?

6. What does the material comparison of Day and Night bring to our minds?

7. Give two experiences of Day and Night, either of your own or from the Lesson.

8. How can we judge if Day is shining in our lives?

9. With whom lies the final choice of Day and Night for us?

10. Who is the great Leader who knew both Day and Night?

Background

Background

B1. Subject of Reading 262-57 - “Norfolk Study Group #1.”

Mentioned Entities

Soul, Jesus Christ, Lamb of God, Meditation, Millennium, Ideal, Alpha and Omega, Free Will, Paul (Apostle), Reincarnation, Purpose, A.R.E. (Association for Research and Enlightenment), Fallen Angels, Genesis, Grace, Prayer, Visions, Adam and Eve, Angels, Egypt

Source: The Complete Edgar Cayce Readings, A.R.E. CD-ROM (2006). Reading 262-57, ReadingID 1437.